Manchester United ready to pounce for €37.3m star – report

Manchester United are preparing a bid of £30 million (37.3m Euros) for central defender Mehdi Benatia. The 27-year-old has been made a priority transfer target by manager Louis van Gaal and the club are set to launch an official bid in the coming days according to The Daily Star.

Man Utd ready £30m bid for Chelsea target Mehdi Benatia

The new manager is trying desperately to add more options in defence as he looks set to play three centre backs in his preferred formation. This means that The Red Devils need more players in that position, especially considering that Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand have both left the club this summer.

While reinforcements have been brought in for other positions there have so far been no new signings at centre back. A move for Thomas Vermaelen failed after he choose to move to Barcelona. With the new Premier League season about to start it has become imperative that Manchester United quickly move to address this issue.

Mehdi was initially said to be a transfer target for Chelsea but so far Jose Mourinho has yet to make an official bid for the player. This has left the door open for Van Gaal to hijack the transfer and bring him to Old Trafford.

ESPN has reported Thursday that the player has apparently told fans that he’s staying in Rome but money speaks very loudly these days in football and clubs can be very persuasive when desperation kicks in.

The manager has made it clear that he wants the Roma defender, but the club could be forced to pay around 37 million euros to force the deal through as Roma are not in a position where they have to sell.

The centre back has had an impressive season at Roma, helping the team to reach second place in Serie A and secure Champions League football. He has previously had spells at other top clubs including Udinese and Marseille and is experienced at international level with 31 caps for Morocco.

Along with his solid defensive talents Mehdi also has a decent goal scoring record for a centre back. Since joining Roma in 2013 he has scored 5 goals in 33 league appearances.